Inter Miami off to Orlando after festive sendoff, six Dallas players positive for COVID-19
Pink smoke and the sound of drum beats filled the air in the Inter Miami Stadium parking lot early Wednesday afternoon as about 100 masked fans serenaded players (also in masks) as they boarded buses in Fort Lauderdale headed to Orlando for the MLS is Back Tournament.
The fans stayed beside and atop their cars behind barricades as the team waved and recorded the festive moment on cell phones.
“It was really important for us to do something special for the guys,” said Inter Miami chief operating officer and sporting director Paul McDonough. “I think the fans coming out, it shows how important the team is to them and how excited they are to get us back playing.”
Two new faces were with the team — former U.S. national team player Brek Shea, who signed last week, and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, the former Atlanta United MLS All-Star who is finalizing a contract with Inter Miami after six months in the Mexican league.
Pirez, a native of Argentina, will not be available to play in Orlando, but will use the next few weeks to integrate with the team, said McDonough, who knows Pirez well from their days with Atlanta United.
McDonough said two more international players will be added after the MLS is Back Tournament, a World Cup-style event which kicks off July 8 and runs through Aug. 11 at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports. Inter Miami plays Orlando City in the opening match July 8 at 8 p.m. Their other two games are July 14 at 9 a.m. against Chicago Fire and July 19 at 10:30 p.m. against Philadelphia Union.
The tournament is beginning under a COVID-19 cloud as cases surge in Florida and throughout the United States. Six FC Dallas players have tested positive — two upon arrival in Orlando last Saturday and four more since. Thus far, 392 people have been tested on site and those six were the only positives.
FC Dallas released the following statement:
“FC Dallas players, coaches and staff departed for the MLS is Back Tournament on June 27. Every member of the FC Dallas traveling party had tested negative for COVID-19 through an MLS-mandated testing service prior to the club’s departure on Saturday morning.
“Upon arriving in Orlando for the MLS is Back Tournament, FC Dallas had two players test positive for COVID-19. The affected players were immediately isolated from their teammates, the entire FC Dallas delegation, other MLS clubs and staff. As league testing continued, four more players tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of FC Dallas players who tested positive while in Orlando to six.”
Despite that news, McDonough said he is confident in the protocols and health measures the league put into place. All 26 teams are being sequestered at the Swan and Dolphin resort. They are being tested upon arrival and will be quarantined for 12 hours until they get their result before they can check into their rooms. All players are staying in single rooms, and teams each have their own floor.
Miami players have been tested every other day since full-squad training resumed in early June. One unnamed player tested positive, went into isolation and had to get back-to-back negative results in order to travel.
Asked if that player was with the group Wednesday, McDonough confirmed that everyone on the team is traveling.
“The league has done a really good job with all the protocols,” McDonough said. “We’ve been testing day. Anything that looks funny, we would shut a guy down. The guys when they arrive go into isolation until they are tested and cleared. We look at is as we’re going into a really safe bubble, so we just need our guys to stay together, focus on training and on their games.”
McDonough said the team is eager to play its first game in four months.
“Just getting back is good, we didn’t know when this was going to happen,” he said. “The guys have been working hard, staying disciplined. We’re excited to get to Orlando and get back to competing again.”
He said Pirez will add veteran leadership on the back line.
“Leandro is a top player, one of the best defenders in the league,” McDonough said. “His experience, ability to win trophies, his flat-out talent is a great asset for us to have with our team.”
After the MLS is Back Tournament, the plan is for teams to return to their home stadiums and resume the regular season without spectators in the stands.
“The plan right now is we will start up in the next phase once the tournament is over,” McDonough said. “But things are so dynamic with this, but we’re in constant contact with the league and right now that is the hope.”